Mary Lou Retton. Olympic success made her the America’s sweetheart and the first female sports figure to grace the cover of a Wheaties box. That was she at 16... but my how things change. I have been delving, trying to find some good she did with her life after that and came up empty. Her legacy is that she thought kids should stay healthy and slim... and stated it often. Yet all I could find was "Mary Lou says she tries to make sure that both she and the kids eat a lot of "lean, healthy and natural" meals..." She is a PAID motivational speaker FFS! Wow, what a philanthropist. I could find nothing. (add a comment if you can find anything, please. There has to be SOMETHING good to say about her adult years, FFS! )
Mary-Lou Retton: Evangelical Christian Reaganite who hated Obamacare and the insurance mandates, was uninsured and now that she is in the ICU with a "rare pneumonia," her daughters are grifting in the dolla dollas... She must need it to maintain her multi-million dollar 6 bedroon, 6 bath, 9,000 sq.foot mansion in Houston!
The rooms are huge but the screening room is pretty small for a mansion. And there are only 4 sitting rooms and one library. Tut tut, girl! She only got 1.8 mill as a divorce settlement in 2018 and the kiddies need their inheritance, dontcha know... https://www.homedit.com/mary-lou-retton-in-houston-home/
According to recently released U.S. Census data, the share of Texans without health insurance — 18.4 percent in 2019 — was twice the national average of 9.2 percent. And those numbers have risen in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, causing economic turmoil and massive job losses.
“It’s gonna be a day by day process, and we hope that you guys will respect her boundaries because we want to keep the details between her and our family right now,” daughter Shayla Schrepfer said.
Retton's daughters posted a message on Instagram saying their mother “continues to fight” and thanked the thousands who have donated money to help take care of Retton's medical bills, but neglected to mention what kind of pneumonia. Why would that be? WHY? I surely would like to know if she was an antivaxxer...and whether this pneumonia was a complication of COVID as it often is. The daughter says her mother wants privacy, yet they are giving updates on her health ... and were happy to bilk the public into thinking she is somehow unable to pay for her medical bills , or insurance for that matter. https://www.today.com/video/mary-lou-retton-s-family-gives-health-update-amid-flood-of-support-194971205588 This all sounds so damn familiar.
🙄 Help us, help us, we are helpless...we need y’all’s help 🙄
The funding grift rift was less than 250k early yesterday afternoon and last night … $312,129 of $50,000 goal ... and just now: $369,773. Gee people are stupid. There so many people in actual NEED of help and this is NOT one...
There is also NO update on the funding request itself, and still says she is fighting for her life even though the press says 2 fellow gymnasts and her dancing with the stars partner have spoken to her. You can't talk on a ventilator... but hey gotta keep the sympathy bucks rolling in as it has only been 2 days grifting! https://www.spotfund.com/story/a2e0582c-e62f-4e5b-a586-18349014f761
Linda Mcingvale, wife of 'Mattress Mac,' gave 50k. https://www.spotfund.com/story/a2e0582c-e62f-4e5b-a586-18349014f761 They can afford it, and although the mattress king made his hundreds of millions gambling (And maybe money laundering being he started out with nothing yet in 2 years had a foundation and thriving business. Mattresses and furniture stores are often innocuous fronts for "other" businesses), at least he shares the wealth in his sales gimmicks... and helped after the Houston flood, unlike the religious icons who locked their doors and who also live in multi-million dollar mansions. Here's how he made money, if you are into weird marketing ideas: https://weirdmarketingtales.com/how-losing-millions-of-dollars-made-mattress-mack-famous/
As I was looking for more information about the family, I read this and the comments. Whooo boy. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/10/2198620/-Mary-Lou-Retton-Gravely-Ill-and-on-Life-Support-According-to-Family#comment_87199603
Mary Lou Retton was on the board during the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal of 2016 that protected and defended Pedo Larry Nassar. https://themedalcount.com/2020/01/23/there-is-no-defense-for-the-actions-of-mary-lou-retton/
Rather than protect her fellow gymnasts, Mary Lou Retton lobbied AGAINST the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/534/text a law to 'prevent the sexual abuse of minors and amateur athletes by requiring the prompt reporting of sexual abuse to law enforcement authorities' and more ways to make the sport safer. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/sports/facing-congress-some-sports-officials-not-all-begin-to-confront-sex-abuse.html This all sounds so damn familiar.
Since she retired in 1987, she has been doing TV and film bits and hawking her name brand like another LOSER we know... She does fucking reverse mortgage ads, so she should take one out. She does Life insurance ads (see video), but has no medical insurance. She did ads for the company that did hip replacements after she got hers, until they were considered dangerous and she sued for a huge settlement. This all sounds so damn familiar.
She hawked drugs and yet may have been an antivaxxer. (Will update if I see that anywhere other than speculation) https://www.drugwatch.com/news/2015/11/09/celebrity-and-big-pharma-drug-promotion/ So she hawks everything under the sun, including this menopause ad where she describes it in DETAIL, but hey, respect her privacy now...
She also spends time whitewashing her past... and elevating herself. https://themedalcount.com/2020/07/12/how-mary-lou-retton-tries-to-rewrite-gymnastics-history/ There are several videos, but this one shows how deftly she uses word salads to deflect from answering when an interviewer 'incorrectly introduced her as an advocate of the very same bill she is alleged to have actively tried to block from passage.' This all sounds so damn familiar.
'She also campaigned for Ronald Reagan’s re-election in 1984, served as an adviser to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness during the George H.W. Bush administration and delivered the Pledge of Allegiance with fellow former gymnast and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Kerri Strug on the second night of the 2004 Republican National Convention.' https://www.ocregister.com/2023/10/12/mary-lou-rettons-lack-of-insurance-raises-questions-as-crowdfunding-passes-250000/
I dearly hope that Simone Biles remains a good person... and is taking notes...
FYI: I am Canadian. She isn't our "sweetheart." Am I jealous? Hell no. A huge home would never be something I would buy if I had millions. And helping others has always been top of my agenda for a good life. I still have a large list of charities that I give to on a fixed and limited senior income because I live comfortably within my means, which most NORMAL people do... These MAGA/GOP grifters make me sick. Do I want them to die? Oh no... I just have stopped giving a shit if they do.
Another UPDATE
This is news to me. I do not have a TV so didn't know she finally did an interview in January.
I still have questions!
She was home before Halloween, but is emphasizing she was home for Christmas? Sounds like she is still trying to evoke sympathy ...
What kind of "Very Rare' Pneumonia did she have? Pneumonias have names.
She still did not say whether she has veen vaccinated.
She showed a picture of her lungs, It looked like an acute case of Ground Glass Opacity. The kind you get from having had COVID... then, get sepsis/pneumonia.
She just could not afford insurance? I will forever not believe that lie...
I'm very private, says the woman whose "job" entailed reliving her one freaking time claim to fame on TV and in commercials...
They say "loving on her" again. It is so damn cringeworthy.
She says her kids "put their hands on her" when praying.
She never thanked the medical teams. Bleahhhhhh
She literally only thanks herself! "I am a fighter," she repeats over and over and Hoda soft balls and cries for more sympathy. <----- (Why I don't ever miss TV)
So many in the comments call her a hero. WTF? You need better heroes...
The money grifting site is still up and running. WHY? It made $459,354. That's more than many people make in a lifetime.
Here's a case of "rare" pneumonia that sounds familiar... hmmmmmmm...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10211398/
Her lungs
She is either lying or is a clueless moron. She is going to have lung scars for the rest of her life. Those areas do not heal and come back functioning to help you breathe better... They are thicker... stiffer. The lungs also stiffen with age. She's been home for over 3 months. It takes 2 seconds to look it up... Sorry, Mary Lou Retton. Your story sounds suspicious. Your ignorance is suspicious. Your grifting is more than a little suspicious. You taking money from strangers when you are a mutimillionnaire is more than dishonest; it is reprehensible. And the people who gave to you sound a lot like the usual "christians" who give to the church and pretend being prolife is only attached to fetuses.
I don't believe you
Although we will never know ...
Update on the grift
They still have NO update on their crowd fund site
The site has only made $10 dollars since she got home
People are hopefully wising up that they do NOT NEED the $$!
Mary Lou responds:
She has meanwhile asked for privacy as she recovers...
"When the time is right"
PS: I just realized some people may not have watched SpongeBob. I watched a lot of cartoons with my son... and it had something funny and goofy for everyone so that adults could enhoy it as well. These were the timecards to show time passing under the sea...
Mary Lou Retton is $$$feeling$$$ better... and is home... Amazing how she recovered so quickly to be able to go home. The funds dried up 3 days ago, so there will likely be lots more updates on her progress... After all...
🙄 Help us, help us, we are helpless.we need y’all’s help 🙄
I will note again they are making progress reports on sites OTHER THAN the funding site. https://www.tiktok.com/@todayshow/video/7293569731431370027
The initial plea is still there. https://www.spotfund.com/story/a2e0582c-e62f-4e5b-a586-18349014f761
I hope they find room for her recuperation at home!!
I was thinking it is about time they told everyone just what kind of "Very Rare' Pneumonia she had. And what is with these "christians" speaking about love being "on" someone. WTF does that even mean?
Awww, thanks for the main page shoutout ~Chock Full O’ Nanobots~
I can't believe the audacity of a person who has enough money to own a mansion to be begging for money! At least the beggars on the Bowery are actually needy!
Oh, c'mon man!
I was going to update thus yesterday as the "fundraising for the rich and famous" had slowed, but of course the daughters made sure to contact the press to say Mary Lou is not doing as well. There is NO WAY those 4 girls want to pay a penny to care for their own mother's care, FFS! Bleaaaaaaaaah!
How many setbacks can she suffer? MANY! She has never left the ICU, people! She will remain there until she can breathe on her own, FFS! Save your money for people who really do need help and are not rich. At this point, I am willing to bet the family is paying a PR firm to make sure she stays in the news and the grift keeps going ... This is a CANADIAN news outlet https://globalnews.ca/news/10035732/mary-lou-retton-setback-health-update/
I should start a "Fundraising for the Rich and Famous" site, and charge a 1% nominal fee... but wait! I forgot I am not a greedy guts grifter like these people.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The donations continue to pour in... but her kids are only putting updates in their instagram, not on the donation site. Gee, I wonder why not? Most NORMAL people do that. Even though instagram says she is weening off "the machines" and breathing better on her own, there is no actual news other than that. Cat bounce?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CyYmn3NuHdX/
After she "recovers," wanna bet there will be updates and more grift for home care? 'Religious' people seem to be really good at the grift. They are also GOP, so think the left are socialist and always wanting a handout... and vote against healthcare for all, school lunches, CHIP, etc... and for lowering their own taxes and ruining the environment to assure their dirty oil and gas stocks stay high. The irony is thick...
Shorter update:
Keep the prayers and $$$ coming, rubes!!
~ WTF!! ~
I did a teeny bit more digging and Mary Lou and her daughter Emma Kelley have a custom leotard shop and online boutique. "Foxy's is offered in 100's of pro-shops and boutiques around the world! Wholesale and Consignment offered." Custom: https://foxysleos.com/pages/team-meet-event-custom-leotards Regular sizing: https://foxysleos.com/collections and hey, hair scrunchiies are only $6... https://foxysleos.com/collections/mkr-ejk-collection/mlr
There is never enough money for some people, FFS. And when it seems to be leaking, use other people's. Now where have I seen that before?
I never had any interest in her (I think I stopped following gymnastics after Comaneci), but wow, didn't realize she was this much of a scumbag.
Has Joel 0$teen dropped by to pray with her?
The rubes are warming up for the big win!